Prince Semën Ivanovich Shakhovskoi has long been recognized as a significant figure in early seve... more Prince Semën Ivanovich Shakhovskoi has long been recognized as a significant figure in early seventeenth-century Russia, mostly for his writings in a range of genres (historical tales, letters, theological treatises, liturgical services, and prayers). He has not, however, attracted the level of attention from scholars that his works deserve. This study examines one subset of his corpus, his prayers, for traces of biography and individuality of this important author. It argues that Shakhovskoi's prayers are both modeled on Orthodox textual traditions and customized to reflect the events and hardships in his life. The study also shows that Shakhovskoi-a warrior and diplomat-was well-versed in biblical and Church sources, making him a rare figure in the intellectual history of Muscovy: a true secular intellectual.
This article analyzes the short book The Origin of the Law of Succession in Russia (1925) by St. ... more This article analyzes the short book The Origin of the Law of Succession in Russia (1925) by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco (1896-1966, canonized 1994) for its treatment of succession to the throne in Kyivan, Muscovite, and Imperial Russian history. In it, St. John makes the case for the gradual and intentional development of primogeniture in Muscovy and sees the Petrine Law of Succession of 1722 as a fundamental violation of customary norms about the succession. He also sees the Pauline Law of Succession of 1797 as a restoration of those norms and a step forward in the regularization of the succession. St. John discusses how the Russian Revolutions of 1917 affected the Romanov dynasty and concludes that the Pauline Law was and would continue to be a vital legal instrument for maintaining the dynasty in exile. He also recommended the elimination of the Law's equal marriage requirement and the addition to it of a requirement that all members and spouses of members of the dynasty be Orthodox. St. John's book became an important reference work for generations of surviving Romanovs after 1917, even if his suggested changes to the Law have yet to be implemented.
On Friday, September 25, 2015, in Memorial Church at Harvard University, a memorial service was h... more On Friday, September 25, 2015, in Memorial Church at Harvard University, a memorial service was held to celebrate the life and career of Professor Edward L. Keenan Jr., Andrew W. Mellon Professor of History, Emeritus, who passed away on March 6, 2015. The memorial service gathered together hundreds – family members, former colleagues and students, and countless friends. The eight speakers at this memorial described Edward (Ned) Keenan’s influence on them, but also his inestimable impact on the field of Russian history; and his widow provided a window into his thinking about the many roles he played over the course of a diverse and significant career that spanned four decades. The memorial service marked a sad moment in the field of Russian studies, and the words offered at it are important for understanding how the field of Russian history in the United States grew and was transformed in the last quarter of the twentieth century.
This article examines the Law of Succession and the Statute on the Imperial Family, texts which w... more This article examines the Law of Succession and the Statute on the Imperial Family, texts which were issued by Emperor Paul I on April 5, 1797, and which regulated the succession to the throne and the structure of the Romanov dynasty as a family down to the end of the empire in 1917. It also analyzes the revisions introduced in these texts by subsequent emperors, focusing particularly on the development of a requirement for equal marriage and for marrying Orthodox spouses. The article argues that changing circumstances in the dynasty—its rapid increase in numbers, its growing demands on the financial resources of the Imperial Household, its struggle to resist morganatic and interfaith marriages—forced changes to provisions in the Law and Statute, and that the Romanovs debated and reformed the structure of the Imperial Family in the context of the provisions of these laws. The article shows how these Imperial House laws served as a vitally important arena for reform and legal culture...
King Solomon, the famously wise ruler of the Old Testament and successor to King David, was a pop... more King Solomon, the famously wise ruler of the Old Testament and successor to King David, was a popular model for kings from the early centuries of Europe's Middle Ages. He was the presumed author of four biblical books, the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs and the Book of Wisdom, which served as ethical and political guides for kings as well as lay people. An ambivalence surrounded his character that derived partly from the fact that he was influenced by his wives and lovers, and became idolatrous and turned away from God at the end of his life. Moreover, an ancient tradition held that Solomon acquired his knowledge thanks to magical practices. 1 David, alongside Solomon, was one of the most favoured biblical exemplars for rulers, especially in the early Middle Ages. 2 Yet, Solomon became increasingly viewed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the example to emulate. Varied associations, some negative, meant it was impossible, however, for medieval authors to create a fixed image of him. The highlighted aspects of the Solomonic ideal varied through the ages as Solomon was intermittently associated with peace, 3 justice (1 Kings 3:16-28), wealth (1 Kings 10:14, 23), wisdom 4 and, not without potentially negative connotations, involvement in magical practices. 5 From the Bible, we know of several famous episodes concerning the king, such as 'Solomon's Judgement', an incident in which he resolved a dispute between two women who both claimed to be the mother of the same child. Moreover, his rich kingdom and his famed knowledge were said to have drawn the attention of the Queen of Sheba, who travelled to meet with the king. Legendary objects as well as virtues were connected with him, ranging from the temple he built (1 Kings 6) and his palace (1 Kings 7), to his throne (1 Kings 10:18-20), key 6 and ring. 7 Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem became an archetype, one which many medieval rulers sought to imitate. This chapter will examine the way in which King Solomon was employed as a royal exempla in the medieval west between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. A Solomonic typology was certainly not attached to every medieval ruler's image. The instances selected in this study are, however, particularly notable examples. First, the chapter will touch on the early instances of so-called 'new Solomons', particularly among Carolingian and Byzantine rulers. The analysis will then focus on a
The Daniilovich dynasty-the branch of the Riurikovich dynasty descended from Prince Daniil Aleksa... more The Daniilovich dynasty-the branch of the Riurikovich dynasty descended from Prince Daniil Aleksandrovich of Moscow (d. 1303) that ruled over an ever-expanding Muscovite principality for ten generations until its extinction in 1598-has not received much attention from scholars as a discrete topic, but the situation is changing. The best work on the topic remains the first, by Ivan Zabelin, which looked at the private lives of the members of the ruling dynasty and at dynastic customs and politics but did not provide a formal model of the ruling house. 1 The dynasty was largely ignored in Soviet times, though there were several excellent studies of individual rulers and periods. 2 There have been many excellent studies of succession in Kievan Rus´, and studies of the Mongol influence in Muscovite history have treated the various branches of the East Slavic dynasty (Riurikids), usually in terms of the Mongol control of succession to the grand princely throne, or its alternatively constructive or 1 Ivan [Egorovich] Zabelin, Domashnii byt russkikh tsarei v XVI i XVII st., vol. 1, pts. 1 and 2 of Domashnii byt russkogo naroda v XVI i XVII st., reprint, from 1918 and 1915 editions (Moscow: Iazyki russkoi kul´tury, 2000-03); Zabelin, Domashnii byt russkikh tsarits v XVI i XVII st., vol. 2 of Domashnii byt russkogo naroda v XVI i XVII st., reprint, from 1901 edition (3rd ed., with additions) (Moscow: Iazyki russkoi kul´tury, 2003); and Zabelin, Materialy (accompanying Domashnii byt russkogo naroda v XVI i XVII st. and Domashnii byt russkikh tsarits v XVI i XVII st.), reprint, from various editions, with overlapping pagination (Moscow: Iazyki russkoi kul´tury, 2003). 2
On Friday, September 25, 2015, in Memorial Church at Harvard University, a memorial service was h... more On Friday, September 25, 2015, in Memorial Church at Harvard University, a memorial service was held to celebrate the life and career of Professor Edward L. Keenan Jr., Andrew W. Mellon Professor of History, Emeritus, who passed away on March 6, 2015. The memorial service gathered together hundreds – family members, former colleagues and students, and countless friends. The eight speakers at this memorial described Edward (Ned) Keenan's influence on them, but also his inestimable impact on the field of Russian history; and his widow provided a window into his thinking about the many roles he played over the course of a diverse and significant career that spanned four decades. The memorial service marked a sad moment in the field of Russian studies, and the words offered at it are important for understanding how the field of Russian history in the United States grew and was transformed in the last quarter of the twentieth century.
This issue of Russian History represents the second of two published in honor of Professor Orysia... more This issue of Russian History represents the second of two published in honor of Professor Orysia Karapinka (for the first, see Russian History 37, no. 4, 2010). It is a continuation of the tribute to Orysia's more than forty years of teaching, mentoring, and inspiring at the University of Pittsburgh, and includes contributions from Orysia's former students and colleagues who offer works on the history, political science, religious studies, and art history of the east Slavic space. More generally, however, this collection honoring Orysia is also meant as a reminder of the essential role of good teaching. While many other fields could justly make the same claim, the study of Russia and eastern Europe has been blessed over the past five decades with many excellent college teachers.
Prince Semën Ivanovich Shakhovskoi has long been recognized as a significant figure in early seve... more Prince Semën Ivanovich Shakhovskoi has long been recognized as a significant figure in early seventeenth-century Russia, mostly for his writings in a range of genres (historical tales, letters, theological treatises, liturgical services, and prayers). He has not, however, attracted the level of attention from scholars that his works deserve. This study examines one subset of his corpus, his prayers, for traces of biography and individuality of this important author. It argues that Shakhovskoi's prayers are both modeled on Orthodox textual traditions and customized to reflect the events and hardships in his life. The study also shows that Shakhovskoi-a warrior and diplomat-was well-versed in biblical and Church sources, making him a rare figure in the intellectual history of Muscovy: a true secular intellectual.
This article analyzes the short book The Origin of the Law of Succession in Russia (1925) by St. ... more This article analyzes the short book The Origin of the Law of Succession in Russia (1925) by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco (1896-1966, canonized 1994) for its treatment of succession to the throne in Kyivan, Muscovite, and Imperial Russian history. In it, St. John makes the case for the gradual and intentional development of primogeniture in Muscovy and sees the Petrine Law of Succession of 1722 as a fundamental violation of customary norms about the succession. He also sees the Pauline Law of Succession of 1797 as a restoration of those norms and a step forward in the regularization of the succession. St. John discusses how the Russian Revolutions of 1917 affected the Romanov dynasty and concludes that the Pauline Law was and would continue to be a vital legal instrument for maintaining the dynasty in exile. He also recommended the elimination of the Law's equal marriage requirement and the addition to it of a requirement that all members and spouses of members of the dynasty be Orthodox. St. John's book became an important reference work for generations of surviving Romanovs after 1917, even if his suggested changes to the Law have yet to be implemented.
On Friday, September 25, 2015, in Memorial Church at Harvard University, a memorial service was h... more On Friday, September 25, 2015, in Memorial Church at Harvard University, a memorial service was held to celebrate the life and career of Professor Edward L. Keenan Jr., Andrew W. Mellon Professor of History, Emeritus, who passed away on March 6, 2015. The memorial service gathered together hundreds – family members, former colleagues and students, and countless friends. The eight speakers at this memorial described Edward (Ned) Keenan’s influence on them, but also his inestimable impact on the field of Russian history; and his widow provided a window into his thinking about the many roles he played over the course of a diverse and significant career that spanned four decades. The memorial service marked a sad moment in the field of Russian studies, and the words offered at it are important for understanding how the field of Russian history in the United States grew and was transformed in the last quarter of the twentieth century.
This article examines the Law of Succession and the Statute on the Imperial Family, texts which w... more This article examines the Law of Succession and the Statute on the Imperial Family, texts which were issued by Emperor Paul I on April 5, 1797, and which regulated the succession to the throne and the structure of the Romanov dynasty as a family down to the end of the empire in 1917. It also analyzes the revisions introduced in these texts by subsequent emperors, focusing particularly on the development of a requirement for equal marriage and for marrying Orthodox spouses. The article argues that changing circumstances in the dynasty—its rapid increase in numbers, its growing demands on the financial resources of the Imperial Household, its struggle to resist morganatic and interfaith marriages—forced changes to provisions in the Law and Statute, and that the Romanovs debated and reformed the structure of the Imperial Family in the context of the provisions of these laws. The article shows how these Imperial House laws served as a vitally important arena for reform and legal culture...
King Solomon, the famously wise ruler of the Old Testament and successor to King David, was a pop... more King Solomon, the famously wise ruler of the Old Testament and successor to King David, was a popular model for kings from the early centuries of Europe's Middle Ages. He was the presumed author of four biblical books, the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs and the Book of Wisdom, which served as ethical and political guides for kings as well as lay people. An ambivalence surrounded his character that derived partly from the fact that he was influenced by his wives and lovers, and became idolatrous and turned away from God at the end of his life. Moreover, an ancient tradition held that Solomon acquired his knowledge thanks to magical practices. 1 David, alongside Solomon, was one of the most favoured biblical exemplars for rulers, especially in the early Middle Ages. 2 Yet, Solomon became increasingly viewed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the example to emulate. Varied associations, some negative, meant it was impossible, however, for medieval authors to create a fixed image of him. The highlighted aspects of the Solomonic ideal varied through the ages as Solomon was intermittently associated with peace, 3 justice (1 Kings 3:16-28), wealth (1 Kings 10:14, 23), wisdom 4 and, not without potentially negative connotations, involvement in magical practices. 5 From the Bible, we know of several famous episodes concerning the king, such as 'Solomon's Judgement', an incident in which he resolved a dispute between two women who both claimed to be the mother of the same child. Moreover, his rich kingdom and his famed knowledge were said to have drawn the attention of the Queen of Sheba, who travelled to meet with the king. Legendary objects as well as virtues were connected with him, ranging from the temple he built (1 Kings 6) and his palace (1 Kings 7), to his throne (1 Kings 10:18-20), key 6 and ring. 7 Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem became an archetype, one which many medieval rulers sought to imitate. This chapter will examine the way in which King Solomon was employed as a royal exempla in the medieval west between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. A Solomonic typology was certainly not attached to every medieval ruler's image. The instances selected in this study are, however, particularly notable examples. First, the chapter will touch on the early instances of so-called 'new Solomons', particularly among Carolingian and Byzantine rulers. The analysis will then focus on a
The Daniilovich dynasty-the branch of the Riurikovich dynasty descended from Prince Daniil Aleksa... more The Daniilovich dynasty-the branch of the Riurikovich dynasty descended from Prince Daniil Aleksandrovich of Moscow (d. 1303) that ruled over an ever-expanding Muscovite principality for ten generations until its extinction in 1598-has not received much attention from scholars as a discrete topic, but the situation is changing. The best work on the topic remains the first, by Ivan Zabelin, which looked at the private lives of the members of the ruling dynasty and at dynastic customs and politics but did not provide a formal model of the ruling house. 1 The dynasty was largely ignored in Soviet times, though there were several excellent studies of individual rulers and periods. 2 There have been many excellent studies of succession in Kievan Rus´, and studies of the Mongol influence in Muscovite history have treated the various branches of the East Slavic dynasty (Riurikids), usually in terms of the Mongol control of succession to the grand princely throne, or its alternatively constructive or 1 Ivan [Egorovich] Zabelin, Domashnii byt russkikh tsarei v XVI i XVII st., vol. 1, pts. 1 and 2 of Domashnii byt russkogo naroda v XVI i XVII st., reprint, from 1918 and 1915 editions (Moscow: Iazyki russkoi kul´tury, 2000-03); Zabelin, Domashnii byt russkikh tsarits v XVI i XVII st., vol. 2 of Domashnii byt russkogo naroda v XVI i XVII st., reprint, from 1901 edition (3rd ed., with additions) (Moscow: Iazyki russkoi kul´tury, 2003); and Zabelin, Materialy (accompanying Domashnii byt russkogo naroda v XVI i XVII st. and Domashnii byt russkikh tsarits v XVI i XVII st.), reprint, from various editions, with overlapping pagination (Moscow: Iazyki russkoi kul´tury, 2003). 2
On Friday, September 25, 2015, in Memorial Church at Harvard University, a memorial service was h... more On Friday, September 25, 2015, in Memorial Church at Harvard University, a memorial service was held to celebrate the life and career of Professor Edward L. Keenan Jr., Andrew W. Mellon Professor of History, Emeritus, who passed away on March 6, 2015. The memorial service gathered together hundreds – family members, former colleagues and students, and countless friends. The eight speakers at this memorial described Edward (Ned) Keenan's influence on them, but also his inestimable impact on the field of Russian history; and his widow provided a window into his thinking about the many roles he played over the course of a diverse and significant career that spanned four decades. The memorial service marked a sad moment in the field of Russian studies, and the words offered at it are important for understanding how the field of Russian history in the United States grew and was transformed in the last quarter of the twentieth century.
This issue of Russian History represents the second of two published in honor of Professor Orysia... more This issue of Russian History represents the second of two published in honor of Professor Orysia Karapinka (for the first, see Russian History 37, no. 4, 2010). It is a continuation of the tribute to Orysia's more than forty years of teaching, mentoring, and inspiring at the University of Pittsburgh, and includes contributions from Orysia's former students and colleagues who offer works on the history, political science, religious studies, and art history of the east Slavic space. More generally, however, this collection honoring Orysia is also meant as a reminder of the essential role of good teaching. While many other fields could justly make the same claim, the study of Russia and eastern Europe has been blessed over the past five decades with many excellent college teachers.
Papers of the First Biennial Conference of the Association for the Study of Eastern Christianity ... more Papers of the First Biennial Conference of the Association for the Study of Eastern Christianity (ASEC)
Невеста для Царя: Смотры невест в контексте политичческой культуры Московии XVI-XVII вв., 2023
Русские правители на протяжении XVI–XVII веков выбирали жен с помощью сложного ритуала, известног... more Русские правители на протяжении XVI–XVII веков выбирали жен с помощью сложного ритуала, известного как смотр невест. Самые красивые девицы Московии, принадлежавшие к слою провинциального дворянства, доставлялись в Москву, где доверенные лица царя — придворные и бояре — оценивали их физическое здоровье, духовные качества, внешность и добродетели. Претендентки, прошедшие предварительный отбор, затем представали перед царем, который и делал окончательный выбор. Как бояре подбирали «правильных» кандидаток в невесты и устраняли неугодных? Сколько на самом деле было жен у Ивана Грозного? Как смотр невест конструировал образ самодержавия и при этом служил механизмом, его ограничивающим? Отвечая на эти вопросы, книга американского историка Расселла Мартина повествует не только о боярских заговорах, но и о сложной коллективной природе монархической власти. Расселл Мартин — профессор и декан исторического факультета Вестминстерского колледжа (США).
The Routledge History of Monarchy draws together current research across the field of royal studi... more The Routledge History of Monarchy draws together current research across the field of royal studies, providing a rich understanding of the history of monarchy from a variety of geographical, cultural and temporal contexts.
Divided into four parts, this book presents a wide range of case studies relating to different aspects of monarchy throughout a variety of times and places, and uses these case studies to highlight different perspectives of monarchy and enhance understanding of rulership and sovereignty in terms of both concept and practice. Including case studies chosen by specialists in a diverse array of subjects, such as history, art, literature, and gender studies, it offers an extensive global and interdisciplinary approach to the history of monarchy, providing a thorough insight into the workings of monarchies within Europe and beyond, and comparing different cultural concepts of monarchy within a variety of frameworks, including social and religious contexts.
Opening up the discussion of important questions surrounding fundamental issues of monarchy and rulership, The Routledge History of Monarchy is the ideal book for students and academics of royal studies, monarchy, or political history.
Beem seeks to produce a 'trans-European' (p. 13) examination of queenship in the fifteenth throug... more Beem seeks to produce a 'trans-European' (p. 13) examination of queenship in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries, and hopes that his book will move us closer to a single conceptual model of queenship in early modern Europe. The book begins promisingly, with an introduction sporting useful definitions and a literature survey that assesses the status of queenship studies today in a way that is inviting and engaging. Indeed, the lucid writing throughout the book is one of its strengths. The next five chapters take on each of the case studies (with Russia being separated out from the Baltic kingdoms into its own chapter). Each chapter highlights one queen or empress (respectively Mary, Queen of Scots; Anne of Austria, queen of France; Maria Theresa, queen of Hungary and sovereign of the Habsburg lands; Bona Sforza, queen of Poland and grand duchess of Lithuania; and Catherine II the Great, empress of Russia), but actually treats the entire early modern period (and more than just one queen). We learn that 'British queenship went through several distinct phases' (p. 78), with Mary I, Elizabeth I and perhaps Anne creating a template for regnant queens that was acknowledged and consulted well outside England for centuries; and Elizabeth of York, Catherine of Aragon and perhaps Mary of Modena perfecting in their own ways the early modern archetype of queens as consorts. In France, we see queens as dynastic figures who sometimes, as in the cases of Marie de Medici and Anne of Austria, could exercise vast powers as dowagers, though few had what Beem calls 'companionate' marriages with their royal husbands; while in Spain the traditional roles of motherhood, piety and beneficence became linked and identified with the formal affections of their spouses. The Habsburg and Polish queens dutifully followed the 'companionate marriage model' (p. 201), focusing on motherhood, religious observance and
Rossiiskaia genealogiia. Nauchnyi al'manakh: A Review and a Reflection, 2022
This review article surveys and assesses the first 12 issues of the journal Rossiiskaia genealogi... more This review article surveys and assesses the first 12 issues of the journal Rossiiskaia genealogiia. Nauchnyi al'manakh, published by Staraia Basmannaia press beginning in 2016. It surveys in detail the three regular sections of the journal-Articles and Notices (Stat'i i soobshcheniia), Source Publications (Publikatsii istochnikov), and Reference Materials (Spravochnye materialy)-and provides detailed descriptions and assessments of selected contents in each. The article calls attention to the high-quality publications that will be of interest not only to scholars working in genealogy, but also in a host of related themes in early modern and modern Russian history and culture, including questions of social identity, kinship awareness, demography, onomastics, and political alliances among the elite (among other themes), as well as methods for mining and publishing complex manuscript sources.
In recent decades, historians of the early modern East Slavic spaces-Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia... more In recent decades, historians of the early modern East Slavic spaces-Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia-have issued periodic assessments, both affirming and frank, about the state of the field. In 2001, for example, Robert O. Crummey reported on "the latest from Muscovy," which he believed was a story filled with "good news and bad." 1 Crummey focused his assessment on four broad themes: "the administrative and ruling elites of Muscovy with whom its monarchs ruled," the "symbolic systems" that "justified the power of the ruler," the "worldview and beliefs of ordinary Muscovites," and relations between the Muscovites and ethnic minorities inside and neighboring the tsar's realm. 2 He chose these four themes because they touched on his own work and so he knew them well, but also because these were themes that displayed some of the most innovative research in the field today. Crummey's survey of the recent historiography left him impressed: "To judge by the quality of recent publications and the level of discussion at conferences," he concluded, "the field enjoys robust health." 3
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Papers by Russell Martin
Divided into four parts, this book presents a wide range of case studies relating to different aspects of monarchy throughout a variety of times and places, and uses these case studies to highlight different perspectives of monarchy and enhance understanding of rulership and sovereignty in terms of both concept and practice. Including case studies chosen by specialists in a diverse array of subjects, such as history, art, literature, and gender studies, it offers an extensive global and interdisciplinary approach to the history of monarchy, providing a thorough insight into the workings of monarchies within Europe and beyond, and comparing different cultural concepts of monarchy within a variety of frameworks, including social and religious contexts.
Opening up the discussion of important questions surrounding fundamental issues of monarchy and rulership, The Routledge History of Monarchy is the ideal book for students and academics of royal studies, monarchy, or political history.